Monday, 11 August 2014

Marshall Motor Group buys first BMW Dealerships

Marshall Motor Group has bought its first BMW and Mini dealerships with the acquisition of Crystal Motor Group, owners of Astle BMW and Mini in Scunthorpe and Grimsby.

The private deal, for an undisclosed sum, means that Marshalls now represents each of the major German and British premium car brands and takes the annual turnover of the business to around £1.2bn.

On completion of the deal, Marshall will have 75 franchised outlets and 2300 staff.

Alongside Astle, which has two BMW and one Mini outlet, Marshall is also acquiring the three Nissan dealerships, trading as Crystal in Boston, Grantham and Lincoln. The Crystal businesses are also Renault authorised repairers.

Daksh Gupta, Marshall chief executive, said: “This is an historically important acquisition for Marshall which fits perfectly with our stated strategy to grow with the right brand partners in the right locations.

“We are incredibly proud to be partnering with BMW and Mini for the first time. We now have a truly balanced portfolio with important partnerships across the volume, alternate premium and premium sectors.”

The three new Nissan dealerships will form a natural market area with the existing Marshall Nissan outlets in Bury St Edmunds and Peterborough.

Crystal Motor Group was the largest privately owned motor group in Lincolnshire and majority owned by Mike Baldry, a former Alphabet and Dial Contracts veteran. He sold a 45% stake in the business to Camden Ventures when he was offered the opportunity to expand and buy Astle BMW in 2008.

Accounts to the end of 2103 showed Crystal Motor Group with a turnover of £32m and a pre-tax profit of almost £616,000. Assets were primarily stock, valued at just over £4m.

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About the Marshall Motor Group

Marshall Motor Group was founded over 100 years ago in Cambridge and now has 67
dealership businesses across the country from Cumbria to Hertfordshire. Marshall
remains family-owned and privately-funded and has over 2,000 colleagues. With a
current annual turnover of more than £700m, Marshall is a Top 10 Dealer Group in the
UK and the second largest privately owned.
For more information please visit http://www.marshallweb.co.uk